STARBUCKS KINDNESS
Role: Design + Art Direction
with Manas Abrol + Anna Wingard
Insight
Starbucks needed to drive brand affinity through an in-café experience that connected with customers emotionally, and physically, at scale while also extending to digital touchpoints like AR.
Idea
We created a warm and welcoming in-store experience centered on community and small acts of kindness. The design was elevated, human, and handcrafted, intended to spark joy across 14,000+ stores and a Times Square takeover.
Execution
I led Art Direction and Design, incorporating my own hand-lettering into custom notes, window clings, and café materials. I also provided Creative Direction to the AR experience team, ensuring brand cohesion and interactivity. Starbucks entrusted me to oversee installation in NYC, bringing the full experience to life.
Outcome
The campaign reached 54.2M+ people, saw 333K+ hours spent in AR, and earned coverage in AdAge and QSR. Clients praised the creative and strategic depth, particularly the in-store print collateral.
“Recently, I’ve had the pleasure of working with Emma on a print in-store signage project for the Starbucks Kindness campaign. Her attention to detail, creative flair, and dedication to rep’ing Design at Edelman has truly shone through in every aspect of the design process. Emma’s ability to take a WIP campaign toolkit with a few graphic elements and some typography styles and beautifully bring it to life across signage is truly applause-worthy. From the window clings that will soon adorn 13 window panes across Starbucks’ Times Square location to the counter cards that will be placed on over 15,000 pickup bars at cafes across the country, her work has proven to be the gold standard for other designers to follow. Her unwavering work ethic and deep understanding of the Starbucks brand have consistently impressed me and the entire team. I have received numerous positive comments from our clients praising Emma’s work, even noting that they “could see any of the signage options we presented placed in their cafes right now.” She even went above and beyond to hand letter notes of kindness in different handwriting styles for a truly genuine and authentic expression. Despite facing tight timelines and demanding projects, she has consistently displayed a remarkable level of professionalism and dedication, often working late to meet deadlines. She manages her time effectively and prioritizes tasks, which has been key to our team’s success. Moreover, I want to acknowledge her outstanding collaboration skills throughout the entire process. She effectively listened to and incorporated feedback from various stakeholders, while also providing valuable insights and recommendations that enhanced the final product. Cannot thank Emma enough for her remarkable contribution to the work and our team! Psyched to keep working together on Starbucks and look forward to seeing her continued success at Edelman.”
“I thought we had enough people on the Starbucks Kindness team. And then Emma came along. Thank God she did because boy did we need her. Emma hopped on the Kindness Train that was already running 50 miles an hour. Have you ever tried to do that? Of course not. Because it’s impossible. But Emma did! Emma was working on the Kindness Project to help define our design language for the campaign that would be translated across Starbucks stores and adapted to Web AR and Installation assets. Emma’s attitude from the get-go was infectious. She didn’t think of the design task like a chore. You can tell she freaking loves what she’s doing. You can’t fake that excitement. In minimal time and crunched deadlines, Emma was vital in setting the design tone. From Round 1 to Round 5, she still shares the same positivity and enthusiasm for the work. Taking pains to craft each and every element via handwritten fonts. Something she doesn’t have to do, but wanted to try. And it ended up looking gorgeous. Her work has not only been appreciated by us on the creative team. But the entire Kindness Team including the clients, who feel Emma’s work with the Store Signage elements has been bang on from day one. Understanding the Starbucks brand, their toolkit and being able to evolve and express that in a beautiful way. The best part about Emma isn’t even her design. It’s her attitude and ownership. Working on Pacific Time isn’t easy with a bunch of east coasters. When there is a tight deadline and you know Emma’s pulling an all nighter. But you don’t wake up to a bunch of panic messages. You wake up to a file that’s almost ready to go to the client meeting. That confidence and ownership of “I got this” is so refreshing. Making me on the creative team feel supported and knowing Emma’s got my back. I’m sure Emma and myself will find ways to continue working together. If she doesn’t, I will. Always rooting for you.”